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Getting lost in Azeroth: escape to fantasy |
Listed in: Titles, Opinions & Analysis Tags: Illinois, Northern Illinois University
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Gamers are getting tired of one topic. Game addiction. We all know that studies have been made and gamers have turned into statistics more than once, but what do the guys that benefit from gamers think?In Northern Illinois University, Heaven and Earth Interactive Gaming offers a place where students can play electronic games, including WoW. The World of Warcraft is populated with eight million subscribers (and still growing). Owners Abe Rednour and Rachel Kaufman have seen a good number (10%) of their customer base as WoW players especially since the launch of The Burning Crusade.
Rednour tried playing WoW and was able to get to level 34 in more than a month at three hours a day. He admits, "It hooks people more and more. By level 60, it draws you in. There's no escaping. And that's when you're capable of entering into quests. If you're playing it 20 hours a week, you're looking at a full-time job."
A licensed clinical psychologist at NIU, Dr. Troy Melendez thinks games as an escape from reality. According to him, "The key point is that when involvement in that fantasy starts to negatively affect your life actions, then it becomes an addiction."
What do the benefactors think? The owners unanimously did not take responsibility for controlling how much a student plays. "I believe it's everybody's own prerogative. It's their way to vent. It's none of my business," says Rednour. "We're a source of entertainment. We're here for people to come and take a break," says Kaufman.
Makes one think, eh?
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